Monkey Magic

One of the things I was looking forward to when we went to The Datai, was a meeting with the famous monkeys! Unfortunately, we were on the "wrong" side of the hotel and so whilst most of our friends were receiving daily visits, it took until Day 5 for us to see any monkey action.

We had seen them in the trees and on other balconies, but never on our own. However, one lunchtime we spied one close by. He looked rather cute from afar :
and even played a touch of hide and seek:

However, when he got closer we realised that, just our luck, he was scabby and not very cute after all - possibly an outcast who had had a recent fight, which might suggest why he was on his own:
Now, we had heard about them stealing food if you left your doors open, but thought that we would be ok if we were in the room. Probably our fault for walking around eating when he arrived because suddenly he spied the fruit bowl:
and before we knew it, he helped himself:
salivating at the thought of more banana:

When it seemed that he was starting to make plans for another raid, I tried to shoo him away, but I think he took that as a challenge and started to mock charge me with his teeth bared:
Eventually we got rid of him, and he skipped away to find some new friends:
I guess the lesson learned was to hide the food when he appeared - as with all animals in "public places", once they know food is available they will keep coming back. The situation is only exacerbated by us making it easy for them.

Still, on the whole, they are really cute and this encounter was another tick in the box for me!
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Tijen & Neal's Wedding - Day 5 - Ceremony

Ok, ok, I know ! It's a hard life out here you know! So sorry that i didn't post again yesterday, but I was exhausted and just couldn't bring myself to sit at the laptop for long enough to do this.

The wedding was simply AMAZING! Tijen, as you will see, looked absolutely stunning ... and Neal was a right old hunk. There was rushing around, there was panic, there were tears and there was laughter .. and that was just the photographers! It was a perfect day in absolutely every way ... Even the post-ceremony gusts of wind and torrential rain didn't ruin the mood - nothing could have spoilt that day ...

I would just like to add that all of the photographs you have seen from this week have not been properly processed for print, and are pretty much straight out of camera - so everything may not always be perfect ... time considerations this week have meant that I could not do everything I wanted to do.

... and so, to the images ...

Tijen was in a wonderfully playful mood, despite the pressure to get ready on time:


Theresa was a superstar and worked to a very tight deadline:

Allison was at hand for the tie-up:



The setting was beautiful:

But the girls were even nicer:

... and still playful:

As the string trio played, the wonderfully beautiful Tijen made her way down the petal-aisle ... and at this point there was hardly a dry eye on the beach:












All of a sudden we started to lose the light, and the clouds moved in - we could see the rain coming, so it was a mad rush to get the photos done:


... and, Oh My Gosh, just before the rain hit, we had 3 minutes of pure glory:





... and then, simultaneously, we lost the light, and the rains hit. Gusts of wind blew the petals off the tables and blew the candles out and the rain started pouring in between the three adjoining open-walled marquees - it was like walking through a waterfall every time you went from one to another. Some of the more resourceful were fine:
... but despite the weather, we really didn't care, and just got on with it:
We ate exceptionally well, the cake was cut and the speeches made:
The rain finally stopped, almost as if on cue, and the bonfire was lit for the first dance:


... and then it was PARTY, PARTY, PARTY round the fire - WOOHOO!


... even the staff joined in, which was wonderful!
Sometimes my job is just TOO GOOD!
Electric kisses all around from Freddy:
... and then you always get that one guest who thinks that they can do a better job than the official photographer :o)
...and as the night drew to a close, the exhaustion became just too much for the ever-so-proud fathers:
So, there you have it ... an amazing day for an amazing couple.

As I write this, sadly, many of us have started the very painful process of packing. There will be no more posts for a day or so as we start the physically arduous and emotionally difficult journey home - away from what can only be described as paradise ...

Once home, I will post the remainder of our images which will include the "Frog Blog" as well as Tijen and Neal's Post-Wedding shoot ... and to whet your appetites, can you guess what happened next ?????